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I realised recently that it’s been a while since I tried something new. Technically I suppose I’ve tried quite a lot of new things: getting a mortgage, home ownership, assembling wardrobes, waiting in all day for tradesmen who don’t turn up, threatening to sue Virgin Media… But at university I tried at least one new hobby every year, and although I’ve actually managed to commit to the one thing I started since I moved to London (and that isn’t changing) it felt strange to have gone so long without trying something completely new.

Then my friend Katie posted an article which she’d written about parkour and she linked to her blog and I read that and by the end I really really wanted to try parkour. I explained to her that this was the case, even though I have the upper body strength of an overweight jellyfish and no free time, she encouraged me, and yesterday evening I found myself in the Chainstore in East London ready for my first class.

It was intense. We started by running, climbing on a large buoy, getting up and down stairs in ways that I would never have considered before and jumping onto walls. In fact, the whole session involved a lot of jumping, that and swinging off railings and being on top of things (as long as you get up there without using your knees, knees are forbidden). The heights were an issue, but I could definitely feel an improvement by the end of the session.

Of course, now I’ve realised why it’s been a while since I tried a new thing. Because now I want to do it all the time, while also still wanting to do roller derby all the time. Does anybody just want to pay me to do unusual sports?